THE FRIDGE TRUCK There wasn’t much point in discussing matters with Charles. He was definitely in his own little world and happy to be there. Paul, however, was a different proposition. It is true that he was religiously self-deluding. After all, not everyone receives visitations from the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, he seemed basically rational and I desperately needed a sounding board to plan my (and David’s) next moves. So, when David and Charles both chose to rest, I took him aside. “How far do you think the plague has spread?” I asked. “You’re assuming it is spread only by zombie bite?” “Yes, no-one who was hiding in the Baillieu showed any symptoms unless they had been bitten. So, airborne or waterborne infection seems unlikely,” I said. “Well, the infection will have travelled only as far – and as fast – as the zombies,” replied Paul, not unreasonably. “So, how far can zombies travel in, what is it now? Nine days?” This sounded like one of those questions from Monty Python’s Flying Circus: “If you tie a coconut shell to its leg, how far can an African swallow fly in ...?” “Zombies can walk as fast as living people but the ones I’ve seen tend not to travel in straight lines. They just mill about in much the same place.” “Let’s think about that,” said Paul, warming to the conundrum. “You wouldn’t see the ones who had cleared off, would you? Because you yourself have stayed put – near the uni ...” A fair point. “...now let’s say a small but significant percentage of zombies choose to wander off in a particular direction and just keep going. How far would this vanguard of the infection have gotten by now?”
AN KERT YEYNELL Nyns esa porpos da vyth bos servyes dre gewsel a-dro dhe vaterow poesek gans Charles. Yn hwir, yth esa ev yn y bys byghan y honan – ha lowen o ev bos ena. Byttegyns, dihaval o Powl. Gwir o y vos owth omdhesevya yn kryjyk. Wosa oll, nyns yw pub huni a dhegemmer Maria Wynn avel godrigores. Byttegyns, yth heveli y vos resnel yn selyek – yth esa edhomm meur dhymm a’y vos astell-son rag an nessa towlow ragov vy ha rag Davydh. Ytho, pan esa Davydh ha Charles ow powes, my a’n kemmeras a-denewen. “Dhe by pellder a grysydh bos an pla drehedhys lemmyn?” a wovynnis vy. “Y tesevydh nag y vos lesys saw gans brath an zombis?” “Desav. Nyns esa denvyth ow kudha y’n Baillieu a dhiskwedha sinys marnas i re via brethys. Ytho, nyns yw gwirhaval bos lesans an klevesans der ayr po dre dhowr,” yn-medhav. “Wel, ny yll an pla lesa pella – hag uskissa – ages an zombis,” a worthybis Powl, meur y reson. “Ytho, py pellder a yll mos an zombis yn ...pyth ywa lemmyn? Naw dydh?” Henn o kepar ha kwestyon dhiworth Monty Python’s Flying Circus: “Mar kelmir krogen knowenn goko orth y esker, py pellder a yll nija gwennel Afrikanek yn ...?” “An zombis a yll kerdhes mar uskis ha’n dus vyw mes an re a welis vy, ny gerdhons i yn linennow syth, dell heveli. Ny wrons marnas gwandra oll a-dro – menowgh ogas dhe’n keth le.” “Prederyn ni a-dro dhe henna,” yn-medh Powl, ow tevi y omvyskans y’n kwestyon ma. “Ny yllys gweles an re a fisa, a ny yllys? Drefenn ty dhe driga y’n keth le – ogas dhe’n bennskol...” Observyans ewn. “...ytho, leveryn bagas byghan anedha dhe dhewis gwandra dhe-ves, mes trohag unn gwartron unnsel, ha pesya yn sempel gwandra y’n fordh na heb chanj. Py pellder re lavuryas an voward ma, voward an klevesans, bys an tor’ ma?”langbot langbot